3 warranty repairs in 3 months from Opel, what next?

vincent coffey

Guys
I am hoping that there is someone here who may know what are my entitlements under the sale of goods act etc

My wife and I bought a new car in Feb 2011 as we had just had a baby.

May 2011 car stops dead. AA diagnose a fuse blown on the fuel pump, replace it and we are on our way.

April 2012, car won’t start. Again blown fuse on fuel pump. After replacing multiple fuses the car is towed to the main dealer. It is returned after a week and we are told all is now well. We are told it received a new wiring loom and software upgrade.

June 2012, car won’t start. AA tow the car directly to the dealer after we explain our previous issue. After 2 weeks the car is returned with a new fuel pump, new power steering motor other stuff I cant remember.

July 2012, car won’t start. The car has now been with the dealer for the last 2 weeks

At this point I do not want the car back, it is unsafe for transporting a baby and completely unreliable.


I believe that under the sale of goods act the car we purchased should be

• Of merchantable quality – it should be of reasonable, acceptable quality given the age and history of the car
• Fit for the purpose intended and roadworthy
• As described – it should match the description given verbally or in an advertisement.

And also under the act I am entitled to
1. Repair (already did this 3 times)
2. Refund (not likely)
3. Replace (more likely)

If I am offered a replacement should it be new for new?
Will I need to get legal advice on this?
What should I do next.

Thanks

Mossess

They have a great term in the states. Lemon laws They are a remedy for purchasers of cars in order to compensate for cars that repeatedly fail to meet standards of quality and performance. These vehicles are called lemons. The federal lemon law (the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act) protects citizens of all states. State lemon laws vary by state and may not necessarily cover used or leased cars. The rights afforded to consumers by lemon laws may exceed the warranties expressed in purchase contracts (Thanks Wikipedia)
I would think your car would be classed as a lemon. (Sorry)

kippy

I am sure you will get some good advice here OP. I can totally understand your situation and the need for a reliable car. Nothing worse than dealing with the crap you are dealing with.

It is rather strange that the root cause of the problem has not been found by Opel mechanics.........it surely couldn't be that difficult to get the issue rectified.

GavMan

I'd be insisting on a replacement on the basis that they've had 3 goes to find the root cause of these electrical faults and still no dice.

The only question should whether you get a current like for like replacement or a replacement equivalent to what you paid for (ie a brand new car)

Be difficult with them OP. A week of hassling them should see them wanting you out of their hair

vincent coffey

Cheer guys. I'm pretty patient but I'm not a push over

I have contacted Opel Ireland customer complaints this morning and opened a complaint ticket.

I am also going to the free legal aid in the citizens advice tonight.

I am sure that this car is not coming back to my house.

I have no confidence in the dealer as they have already broken the key and lost the centre console arm rest with no explanation.

I just want to know what my rights are for the next time I have to deal with them.

kippy

vincent coffey wrote: »

Cheer guys. I'm pretty patient but I'm not a push over

I have contacted Opel Ireland customer complaints this morning and opened a complaint ticket.

I am also going to the free legal aid in the citizens advice tonight.

I am sure that this car is not coming back to my house.

I have no confidence in the dealer as they have already broken the key and lost the centre console arm rest with no explanation.

I just want to know what my rights are for the next time I have to deal with them.

Citizens advice is a good start alright, might be worth contacting SIMI after that as well and making sure you have documentation backing up all you have said.

andyseadog

dad went through this in 2008 with his car, a 2008 corsa which he bought new.

before 30,000kms it had had several sets of new front pads, a set of calipers too i think, a couple of clutch kits, a flywheel, a rear heated windscreen replaced, a seat belt buckle replaced and various other issues.

opel wouldn't budge anyway, they were nice as pie with their free courtesy cars and AA callouts etc.

in the end after a lot of headaches etc opel offered him a grant i think of €2000 at the time to spend at any opel dealership off a new (or used i think) car. so essentially getting dad to get shut of his crap quality corsa for another opel and still be spending yet even more money in the opel dealer network.

essentially they did **** all.

he traded it in later for a polo which has been trouble free ever since.

vincent coffey

andyseadog wrote: »

dad went through this in 2008 with his car, a 2008 corsa which he bought new.

before 30,000kms it had had several sets of new front pads, a set of calipers too i think, a couple of clutch kits, a flywheel, a rear heated windscreen replaced, a seat belt buckle replaced and various other issues.

opel wouldn't budge anyway, they were nice as pie with their free courtesy cars and AA callouts etc.

in the end after a lot of headaches etc opel offered him a grant i think of €2000 at the time to spend at any opel dealership off a new (or used i think) car. so essentially getting dad to get shut of his crap quality corsa for another opel and still be spending yet even more money in the opel dealer network.

essentially they did **** all.

he traded it in later for a polo which has been trouble free ever since.

This is what I am afraid of.
That is why I'm seeking some kind of legal advice cos I suspect this process will not go well.
SIMI did not want to know and put me onto Opel Ireland.
I am going to start by refusing to take the car back and take it from there.

vincent coffey

kippy wrote: »

Citizens advice is a good start alright, might be worth contacting SIMI after that as well and making sure you have documentation backing up all you have said.

Cheers. I have contacted the AA as well to get the exact details/dates of the call outs.

MAJJ

Terrible to hear this, especially when a family is involved. Hard when it drags on. Perhaps post this on a legal forum in boards http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=633

You deserve a refund and compensation for your time and inconvenience, hope it works out.

vincent coffey

thanks MAJJ, just x-posted it now.

The Tyre Dude

Bad form when Opel are on the radio currently advertising how reliable their cars are according to DEKRA.

A friends 2007 1.6 Zafira has a light on the dash that won't go away despite multiple trips to the Main dealer to resolve, this after a new engine was fitted after the first one overheated and died.

vincent coffey

The Tyre Dude wrote: »

Bad form when Opel are on the radio currently advertising how reliable their cars are according to DEKRA.

A friends 2007 1.6 Zafira has a light on the dash that won't go away despite multiple trips to the Main dealer to resolve, this after a new engine was fitted after the first one overheated and died.

i hear you about the ads. I drove a proper german car (audi A4) for 8 years and apart from services the only thing that failed was a water pump. I wonder could I report them to the advertising complaint autthority

Sorry to hear about your mates car though, the more I talk to people about Opel the less good things I hear.